The North Umpqua River’s salmon and steelhead will find it easier to move upstream and downstream past Winchester Dam by 2029, thanks to a final fish passage order approved by a 6-to-1 vote of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in February. The action came after the Winchester Water Control District, which owns the dam, chose to fight rather than comply with a September 2024 ODFW proposed order requiring demolition of the inadequate north side fish ladder and construction of new fish passage facilities on the south end of the dam, closer to the natural travel corridor for migratory fish. An administrative law judge ruled against the dam owners’ challenge in December. With counsel from Earthjustice and Crag Law Center, WaterWatch and our allies intervened in that case in support of ODFW and the North Umpqua.
Construction of legally compliant fish passage at the dam is expected to cost upwards of $70 million. Because the dilapidated 136-year-old structure is maintained solely to provide a private recreational lake for approximately 110 landowners surrounding its reservoir, many expect the owners will opt to remove the dam rather than build new fish passage. WaterWatch’s offer to remove the dam at little or no cost to the owners still stands.
In March, an administrative law judge upheld $77,767 in fines issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) against the dam owners and TerraFirma Foundation Repair, Inc., for water quality violations during repairs at the dam in the summer of 2023. TerraFirma is a basement repair company owned by the Winchester Water Control District board president which served as the primary contractor for the 2023 repairs. WaterWatch and our allies intervend in the case on behalf of the river, water quality, fish and wildlife, and were represented by Crag Law Center.
The ruling marked the second time in five years a judge has upheld state fines for water quality violations during botched Winchester Dam repairs. The judge upheld DEQ fine enhancements due to the dam owners’ “reckless” and “flagrant” conduct resulting in water quality violations. The ruling found dam owners have a “history of hiring contractors inexperienced with complex in-water work” and demonstrated a “general disregard” for water quality protections during the 2023 repair work. The judge also found that “TerraFirma did not have a background with in-water projects with respect to dams or otherwise” and that the dam owners demonstrated a pattern of “choosing expediency and low cost over qualifications and experience when selecting a contractor for the 2023 repair project.”
WaterWatch and our allies continue to support ODFW as amicus parties represented by Crag Law Center in the ongoing court case over the $27.6 million fine against Winchester Water Control District, TerraFirma, and DOWL Engineering resulting from the massive fish kill during the 2023 repairs. We are also monitoring the lawsuit brought by the owners in a bid to delay enforcement after the Oregon Water Resources Department found the water stored behind the dam exceeded the owners’ water right claim. That case had a status hearing on March 31st.
Banner photo of Winchester Dam by Jim McCarthy, design by Monet Hampson.